Geriatric Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

NORMAL CHANGES WITH AGING
ORGANS/SYSTEM NORMAL CHANGES COMMENTS
General Decreased physiologic reserve
(ability to compensate for
changes in internal environment
that often are caused by
changes in or threats from the
external environment — such
as temperature changes or
infectious agents — or because
of something ingested or not
ingested , such as medicine,
food, and water).
Nervous
System
Slower to learn new information
and to recall already learned
information.
Slowed refl exes.
Change in sleep patterns (longer
to get to sleep, less deep sleep,
more frequent awakenings, but
not decreased need for sleep).
Greater chance of dangerous
disequilibrium. Might
not be able to overcome
something that a younger
person could shake off, particularly
from things done
or prescribed by a clinician
(iatrogenesis).
A nuisance to the patient
but no clinical signifi cance.
Major memory loss, or dementia,
is not normal.
Increased risk of falls and
auto accidents.
Problems with sleep may lead
to decreased quality of life and
increased use of sleep aids,
which may cause side effects.
Skin Thinner and dryer. More easily injured. Itching
from dry skin.
Vision Decreased transmission of light
to the retina because of smaller
pupil, less transparent lens, increased
glare from light source,
decreased ability to track a
moving object and to differentiate
an object from its background,
decreased ability to
adapt to dark environment.
Hearing Loss of high-frequency hearing.
Hard to determine how much
loss is from normal aging, how
much from disease or noise
exposure.
Smell and
Taste
Signifi cant loss of smell; slight
loss of taste.
Table 2.1
Increased risk of falls and
auto accidents.
Any hearing loss results in
missed information, reduced
socialization.
Loss of fl avor leading to
decreased enjoyment of
food, which may contribute
to malnutrition. Potential to
increase salt application to
improve taste.
(Continued )